Boracay targets 1.5m tourists in 2013

The Aklan provincial government hoped to reach 1.5 million tourists arrival in this resort island in 2013.
Niven Maquirang, Aklan Jetty Port administrator also expressed his confidence that Boracay may likely to have 1.3 million tourists before the year ends.
"As early as October, a Korean national was registered as the one millionth tourist. The one million target for 2012 was already realized this early," he said.
"With the increasing trend in number of tourists coming here, we are confident that we could reach have 1.5 million tourists next year," Maquirang said.
Meanwhile, reports from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said Boracay was chosen as the venue for the Asian Games Centennial Festival which will be held in November 2013.
The event is in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Far Eastern Championship which was first held in Manila on 1913.

Boracay residents urged to embrace 'Gangnam Style'

"Gangnam Style" fever has infected Boracay as Korean tourists continue to be the top foreign visitors to this resort island, a tourism official here said on Wednesday.
Residents, tourism stakeholders, frontliners in this resort island were urged to learn and appreciate the culture and dialect of South Koreans in a bid to attract more visitors from that country.
"Gangnam Style" is the iconic song of South Korean singer and rapper Park Jae Sang more popularly known as Psy which depicts the lifestyle of people living in Seoul's most posh district. The song's music video has become the most viewed on YouTube with 824 hits since it was released earlier this year.
Tim Ticar of the Department of Tourism-Boracay said on Wednesday that this was the gist of the message of the two-day seminar held in the island from Nov.26-27.
The said conference was supported by the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) National Tourism Organization and participated by the Human Resources Developments.
"Participants were provided lectures and film viewing on the appreciation of culture, dialect of Koreans including their lifestyle so that we in the tourism sector would understand them," Ticar said.
No figures were provided as to how many South Koreans have visited the island this year. 

Globe's boosts 'Its More Fun in the Philippines' campaign

The Globe Telecom said it is boosting the campaign of the Department of Tourism (DOT) "It's More Fun in the Philippines" as it intensifies network coverage in this resort island using state-of-the-art technologies.
Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO in a press conference here Tuesday afternoon, said that with these developments they are committed to become the best telecommunications company in Asia.
"We are strengthening our capability in tourism areas such as Boracay and in Palawan as we noted that tourists especially domestics immediately posts to social networking sites sharing their fun experiences," Cu said.
The strengthened network makes it convenient for visitors to posts their fun while in Boracay, Palawan and in other tourist spots.
For his part, Chief Executive Officer and Country Manager Li Wei of Huawei Technologies said that he agrees with the fun slogan of the DOT saying that it is healthy investing in Boracay.
This resort island recently noted a one million tourist arrivals for this year and the number is increasing.
The Globe Telecom executives visited this resort island announcing its achieved major milestone in its nationwide network modernization by successfully interconnecting Boracay through fiber optics.

Boracay resort plans to revive the dwindling giant clams

The controversial West Cove Resort in this resort island planned to revive the giant clams.
Ben Mobo, manager of the West Cove, said their resort recognized the disappearance of the giant clams known in Tagalog as "taklubo."
The West Cove Resort became controversial after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ordered the demolition of its extension due to alleged environmental issues. The management has been denying the concerns and maintained that it did not violate any environmental law.
"We hired a group of marine scientists from University of the Philippines (UP) to research on how we could ensure environmental protection in our resort," Mobo said.
"They noted that before we built our structures in Boracay, the giant clams have been already disappearing due to human activity. and so we are planning to invest and take responsibility in reviving it. These giant clams are serving as natural filters for Boracay for years," Mobo said.
Boracay residents reportedly collected the giant clams and use them to their new built house in order to ward off evil spirits. Some of the residents also gave giant clams as gifts to visitors coming to this resort island.
"The marine scientists also volunteered to train local residents on how to take care of these giant clams," Mobo added.
The management said each "taklobo" costs P5,000 to be replanted.

Globe Strengthens Its Boracay Network

Globe Telecom has interconnected Boracay through fiber optics, strengthening its network coverage in one of country's top tourist destination. 

The telco linked up the island via the Boracay Submarine Cable System, a two-kilometer fiber optic cable which transmits 80 wavelengths of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing or DWDM systems.

The cable has "near to limitless transmission capacity" of 40 gigabytes per second (GBPS) per wavelength, expandable to 100 GBPS for a "crystal-clear voice call and superfast surfing," according to Robert Tan, Globe's Chief Technical Adviser. 

"This submarine cable system will provide Globe a future-proof infrastructure, along with those for the entire archipelago, ready for the next generation communication technology," he explained after spearheading the cable's landing from Caticlan in the town of Malay, Antique to Boracay. 

"It's a major milestone for Globe as we have powered up our cell sites with 3G and HSPA+ connectivity," Tan added. 

"Finishing our optical fiber systems highway to Boracay is a significant part of building our brand-new network," stressed Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu. Definitely, It will benefit tourism economics and activities in the island. 

Already, Globe has completed 60-percent of its network modernization "in record time" he remarked. 

The telco intends to fully transform its network throughout the archipelago, servicing far-flung locations and creating seamless coverage by the first quarter of 2013. (EVA)

Residents urged to make Christmas tree out of recycled materials

The management of the material recovery facility (MRF) in Barangay Balabag here urged residents to create Christmas tree out of recycled materials this Yuletide season.
Dana Sacapano, caretaker of the MRF facility here, said that they expect more wastes to be dumped at the MRF this Christmas. To minimize the dumping of wastes, local residents should help through recycling.
"It will surely be a big help to our collection of garbage if local residents will use recycled materials in making Christmas decorations," Sacapano said.
In regular days, the MRF facility here collects 18 tons of garbage daily. Those that could not be recycled were being transported to a dumpsite in nearby Malay, Aklan.
For several years, the local government of Malay has been organizing lantern making from recycled materials contests that were being exhibited at the Balabag Public Plaza.